olive garden's zuppa toscana soup

we really enjoyed the copy cat recipe for olive garden's pasta e fagioli soup that we made a few weeks ago. so, we were really excited when we found a copy cat recipe for olive garden's zuppa toscana soup too!  we made this soup over the weekend, and it turned out great!  it is the perfect soup for a cold day, and it tastes even better than the original.  we took leftovers of this soup to work for our lunch yesterday and it was great reheated too!

olive garden's zuppa toscana soup
prep time: 15-20 minutes
cooking time: 35-40 minutes
yields: 6 servings
adapted from cooking classy

ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. (4 links) mild italian sausage, sliced
5 slices low-sodium bacon, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
32 oz. unsalted chicken broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, diced
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup skim milk
1 1/2 cups kale, chopped

directions:
in a saute pan, over medium heat, cook the sausage in the olive oil until browned.  once the sausage is completely cooked, remove the sausage from the pan and place it on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess grease.  set the sausage aside.  add the diced bacon to the pan and allow it to saute for about 5 minutes.  then, add the diced onion to the pan with the bacon and saute until the bacon is cooked throughout and the onions are tender.

in a large pot, over medium heat, combine the cooked sausage, bacon, and onion.  add the chicken broth, water, diced potatoes, fennel seeds, pepper, half-and-half, milk, and chopped kale.  bring the soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat.  allow the soup to simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring often, until the potatoes are tender.

season with salt and pepper to taste.  serve hot with freshly grated parmesan cheese and a slice of italian bread.

enjoy!

love, laurie